Music Creator 6 Touch makes it fun and easy to create original music or remix your favorite songs - with no musical experience required. Transform any Windows 7 or 8 computer into your own personal music studio. Music Creator has all the tools, loops, instruments, and FX you need to create, edit, and mix great music.

September 24, 2014

DAWs on Steam

Music Creator 6 Touch is a Digital Audio Workstation. For more information on DAWs please read our DAW FAQ.

Expand your creative palatte with Cakewalk Loop Manager

Cakewalk Loop Manager is the easiest way for STEAM users to install and utilize additional loop content inside of Music Creator 6 Touch, or any Windows Based Digital Audio Workstation that supports REX/WAV/MIDI files. We've provided free content from top providers like Loopmasters and The Loop Loft. Users can also purchase additional loop collections as DLC.

About This Software

Music Creator 6 Touch makes it fun and easy to create original music or remix your favorite songs - with no musical experience required.

Transform any Windows 7 or 8 computer into your own personal music studio. Music Creator has all the tools, loops, instruments, and FX you need to create, edit, and mix great music. And when you’re ready to share your music with the world, you can burn a CD or use SoundCloud to post your music on Facebook and Twitter.

Music Creator 6 Touch also adds touch support for Intel-inspired Ultrabooks and other Windows 8 touch enabled devices. Use the same multi-touch gestures you’ve grown accustomed to on your smartphone to interact with Music Creator 6 Touch.

Please note: A touch enabled device is NOT required to use all the features in Music Creator 6 Touch. All functions can be done with a mouse and/or keyboard.

*A valid E-mail is required for registering the application and obtaining Cakewalk technical support.
**Music Creator includes a 30 day trial of the MP3 encoder. Cakewalk does not own the license to the MP3 format and because not all users require the MP3 format, Cakewalk does not force you to pay for the license. If you need to export your projects as MP3 files, you can purchase the encoder unlock separately.

This review isn't aimed at music or DAW experts - this review is aimed at the next person who perhaps, seeing this on sale again in the future, decides to give it a try. By all means, creating music is an awesome thing, rewarding and satisfying - but it would be a shame if someone leapt into buying it, opened the program excitedly, only to break into a cold sweat when they suddenly realise they have no idea what they're doing, what they're looking at, and why they bought it.

That said:

I bought Music Creator 6 Touch and the Z3TA+2 bundle when it went on sale, and I have absolutely no regrets. The two products together were a massive bargain and I only wish at the time I'd bought a few more sound packs. Though after some weeks I'm still fully getting my head around some of the features particularly as it relates to mixing down, (my background is in music - but NOT in audio engineering!), I've found this software to be solid, and the more I get into using it, the more I appreciate it. While some online videos and tutorials help, I personally find what helps the most is a lot of experimentation (and saves).

Music Creator 6 may not have quite as many pre-packaged voicings as I might like, sure, but for those of you contemplating complaining about this aspect of the software, understand that MC6 isn't LIMITING you to those! That's where virtual instruments/VST plugins come in - and there's countless ones out there to play with - some of which are free, with active communities supporting them. There's literally no limit.

When this thing goes on sale, if bundles/sound packs are also discounted, then by all means, spring for those that are appropriate to your musical objectives - that gives you a head start into experimenting with this aspect of the program using known-entity compatible products. Just don't think those are the ONLY ONES you can use; they aren't.

If anything for me, what I know is the "outgrowing it" point for MC6 is going to be the soft synth limitation, that is to say - how many you can have actively running in a single composition. Upgrading to Sonar, for me, will likely be spurred by this as symphonic compositions (or any richly-textured electronic one) can easily require more than that.

In any case, I enjoy the interface and the more I use it, the more use I get OUT of it. That's a good perspective to have about this kind of application. Whether I'm edting a score, or working with loops, I feel like the software has a lot to offer, and weeks later, I'm still finding out new ways to work with it.

So, after reading all this, you find that you're tempted, but you're new to using a DAW, understand that there IS a learning curve, and that this kind of software is a good foundation for someone wanting to create audio music, but that there's headroom to expand it's capability as you expand yours.

TL;DR: Expect to invest some time learning how to really make the most of it. (Why else would you bother?)

*****

Some additional tips and ideas:

If you find the on-screen keyboard frustrating, and want to get into the "piano" aspect of it, but are on a budget - then a nice place to start is to get yourself a little 32-key mini midi controller keyboard; you can always upgrade to longer and more feature-filled versions as you get more into composing. However - take a little time to educate yourself on the features - things like weighted keys, touch sensitivity, programmability, etc. And if you have larger hands? You may need to hold out for full-sized keys and skip the space-friendly mini-keyed boards.

Spend a little time watching online tutorial videos; while I didn't find that they necessarily teach you everything you might WANT to know, they give you the "lay of the land", so to speak - an idea of features, how to access them, etc. How each person chooses to use software like this can vary greatly depending on what they're composing, and how.

Most importantly - do not even start using this until you have either an internal, or external dedicated sound card - reason being:

If you plan to install a low-latency driver such as ASIO4ALL, and are only using mobo onboard sound, expect to run into challenges due to the fact that ASIO4ALL requires exclusive use of your audio device - effectively butting heads with Windows' attempts to deliver audio to any OTHER apps you're using. While you can get around this with various clumsy settings changes - the easiest/cheapest thing to do is (if you're not that serious about optimal audio quality) go grab a decent sound card. I got by with a basic Asus Xonar DGX PCI card, and that worked just fine, until I could sort out something a bit more serious.

Or - if you're ready to make leap into something even more purpose-built, then you can find external USB interfaces at any price range and input capability depending on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go and how many/what kind of inputs you want to use - this is also an ideal solution if you plan to compose from a laptop, or are using a desktop rig that (due to multiple graphics cards, for instance), can't accomodate internal sound cards due to a lack of slots (or space).

It's pretty good for simple songs, but you reaaaaally gotta pave your own way to achieve the sound that you want though. It crashes a lot. A LOT. So save often.You pretty much get what you pay for with this DAW, I've been working with it for a year now and I've made some decent tracks. Though nothing crazy good because of the limitations, like you can't really capture the sounds and ideas you have in your head because it's so limited.

So do I recommend this for beginners?: YesDo I recommend it for people who want to achieve those eloquent sounds in their head?: No

I've use Cakewalk since the Commodore 64 days! Glad Steam had it on sale, since I was using a buggy pirate version due to the ridiculous expensive price normally. Got Composer, Mixer, Synthesizer and all the Instruments for $110!

** Turns my cheap Casio MIDI keyboard into an expensive synthesizer capable of playing nearly any instrument!** Add a pickup and practice mute to my violin, fire up Z3TA+2 and I've got a electric violin with distortion!** Can play an entire orchestra solo and add the tracks together for entire musical piece!** Easily create sheet music, MIDI and MP3 recordings of my compositions just by playing the pieces.** Transposing allows to correct minor errors in musical pieces without having to replay it.

As a music-creation hobbyist, I found the Music Creator 6 Touch program to be an interesting upgrade to the sort-of freeware programs I am used to using (ACID Xpress, for example). The Music Creator 6 Touch had nearly all the features of those programs, with a couple more MIDI items courtesy of Cakewalk to create new loops out of.

The downside is that when it comes to making music for instances other than your own personal enjoyment, you long for something more professional; something that doesn't limit the amount of audio loops you are allowed to have at one time; something that doesn't lock-out the SoftSynth selection tab preventing you from adding more loops, even when you delete the entire project page.

If you are willing to spend money on the simplest DAW you can, and money's no problem, you could say Music Creator 6 Touch is the program for you.

But I STRONGLY suggest you compare this program with other DAW programs by Cakewalk for limits. If you don't really want to be limited on the amount of items you wish to add to a project, you might want to consider saving your Steam money and Wallet Codes for a higher program.

The word 'Broken' doesn't even describe this program, Music Creator 6 Touch is so broken that my one Hot Wheel with a f*cked up tire is more functional that the program itself. Basic things like midi creation are frustrating tasks, why is it when I turn off grid snapping, the note still snaps to a grid? Why is it when I playback a track, the software quite literally blows up my speakers consistantly, although my sound is below 60%? Why is it when I delete a track, it still plays? Although I've muted all remaining tracks and the song is stopped? I wish I could get back all the countless hours I've wasted, struggling to even do basic things, such as import audio or use the step recorder, this proof alone that this program is quite the rip off.

TL;DR:I would rather smash each and every single finger on both of my hands with a brick until every bone fragment was separated, losing my ability to play any instrument whatsoever, than use this program ever again.

I come from using Sony's Acid Pro software for almost 15 years. In the old Win XP days it worked fine but since upgrading to Windows 7 64bit, it was having issues and the favorite old DAW software was starting to show it's age. I had also upgraded my old Tascam U122L audio interface with a spanky new Scarlett Focusrite.

I had never heard of Music Creator 6 until I saw it for sale on Steam here and decided to purchase it and some sound packs for a real good deal. I had no intention of replacing my Acid Pro 7 software as it was something that worked ok and I knew how to use it. I did some research on Music Creator and found it's from the Sonar family of audio software products which I definatly knew of so it comes from a good heritage. Now after having installed it and the VST plug ins I use, I must say I'll probably not be going back to Acid Pro.

Being familiar with DAW software as I am I had no trouble finding my way around Music Creator. Everything is pretty much right where you want it to, It's integration with my soft synths, e-drums, two keyboards, and the Scarlett box were all very seamless. It runs MUCH more efficiently on the hardware and seems to have everything I'll need for creating my own musical tracks. Great software if you know about audio production and would be perfect for any small/personal desktop studio.

seems a good program, but its very complicated, even more than cubase but the VST's seem cheaper but I guess its one of those things that the more expensive a product is the easier it is too use, from my opinon.working with the x station 61 makes everything even more complicated than just to plug it in select the vst and start playing.

I decided to purchase this awhile ago when it was on sale. I have used FLStudio up through 9 and loved it but wanted to see what else was out there. Maybe I have no patience but this software is not user friendly by any means. I would not advise purchasing, if you want good music production software try looking somewhere else.

This is the first music-making program I bought, so I have very few other programs which I can truly compare this to using personal experience. With that said, this is a competent and functional music creation and editing program, but it's far from perfect. You can import your own audio and edit the volume and such, so if that's what you're looking for, this program gets the job done.

If you're looking to create your own MIDI music tracks, this will also get the job done, but I have a few warnings. The only way to create music here is to use the musical staff, so if you can't read music this isn't for you. On top of that, your edited music gets pretty messy and chopped up as you go, so don't expect to do much "clicking and dragging" as you would in programs like Fruity Loops. The instrument quality isn't the best, but there may be a way to import your own instrument samples or buy new ones from Cakewalk's website; I haven't looked into it myself, but I don't see why you couldn't do it. And when you're playing back your song, there's a chance that it will silence a few notes at random if your tempo is in an increment of 5 (for example, 100, 95, 90, 105, etc.), and that's really shoddy programming if you ask me.

All in all, it's not the best program in the world, it requires knowledge of the musical staff and what the different notes mean (AND where they go; you can't just stick them anywhere) (to be fair, I think that'd go for any music program, but this isn't a "WYSIWYG" affair like other programs may offer), and the programming is sub-par in several ways, but it's definitely useable and it gets the job done. However, I feel that it's just not enough to merely "get the job done". I was on the fence thinking about whether I should recommend it or not since I spent a lot of time with the program regardless, but knowing that there are better programs out there with better-sounding samples which are also easier to use and do not necessitate intimate knowledge of the musical staff, and also due to the fact that I only used this for so long because I had no other music editing programs, I'm going to have to say, "look elsewhere"! With that said, it's not a complete ripoff and it's still worth a try if you happen to find it on sale and you're desperate for a program to use to make music for a video game or something. Plus you get the song "Want You Gone" from Portal 2 included for free with the program. That's worth something, right?

Awesome program. Ive tried simillar programs without any real success, but within one hour of using audio creator, I was able to make a few pretty cool songs :P. All the stuff thats complicated in other software - the stuff that makes your songs sound awesome are so easy to use in audio creator. I highly recommend this to anyone even remotely interested in creating sounds and music. Although its easy to use and learn I'd like to see maybe some advanced tutorials or even just techniques that professionals use when creating music with music creator. (there are some tutorials already and they are good.)

For the first 30 days after purchasing this application you will have the ability to Export MP3 files. After thirty days you will be greeted by a message upon exporting informing you that in order for you to export in Mp3 format you must purchase an MP3 encoder for $19.99 for the download and an additional $9.99 to activate it. Had I known about this additional cost I would have purchased a different product.

First of all, I recommend this DAW (digital audio workstation). There's a reason it's number one, so this review is just to point out some highlights for the informed consumer.

1. VALUE - This comes out on sale during Steam sales, usually bundled with Z3TA+2 (a synth plug-in to MC6). This is the deal to get if you see it come up.

2. INTERFACE - The UI is crazy, and its fun and creative, but rarely intuitive. Get ready to invest a lot of time in it, it is not standard.

3. CREATION - The ability to extend via plugins, record via MIDI, plot notes with the mouse, drop in audio clips, real-time jam via an effects matrix, record audio, add synths, drop in software instruments, mix and so, so much more is simply unparralleled. There are many ways to get your tune in, from a jazzy Christmas Melody to a desktop-clearing Dubstep Bass beat. If you're creative, then there's an outlet for you.

4. MIXING - If you're more on the mxing side, MC6 offers many ways to mix, from fx chaining, automation, programs, presets, track control, input-output chains, and more (I just can't recall all of them, there are many). I was able to achieve a very professional sound from raw tracks and a polished sounding end project in no time.

5. CONTENT - MC6 ships with a good selection of content, but IMHO not enough. You have standard clips for various genres (MIDI & WAV) but I found myself buying premade collections outside of Steam (well worth the investment) as well as scouring the net for freebies.

6. OUTPUT - MC6 will output to various formats, including lossless (WAV, FLAC) and lossy (MP3). I output to WAV and use 3rd party converstion tools to create quality OGG and likewise. Since you can set your output quality, you can generate CD sounding compilations (of course, start with high quality samples).

7. PLUG-INS - This is the best MC6 feature - there are many available plug-ins: a few shipped with MC6, some free on the Net, and lots of commercial ones. With MC6 you get TH2-Creator (an amp sim for amazing sounding guitar), a great Drum kit with both pattern sets and varying sounds, some instrument banks as well as the Cakewalk synth with many, many sounds. Package in Z3TA+2 and you have an industry leading synth with a huge soundbank and incredible sound creation potential.

8. COMMUNITY - This is a sore spot in v6 considering it is realeased end of 2013. There are NO community functions: you can not collaborate on tracks over the cloud, outsource components to fellow musicians, or communicate in real-time. They ship with SoundCloud integration so you can share your finished music over the Net but that is not collaboration. I'd really like to have the option to bring someone in to do vocals or lay down a bass track over the Net, all the while in my project. Hopefully v7.0 will consider this (essential) feature.

9. SUPPORT - Forget it. There are 8.1 glitches and Steam installer probs, as well as broken directory paths in the defaults. Absolutely no respone from the MC6 support team, despite numerous open tickets. Solution? Community forums. But not Cakewalk.

I like classical music too so I have the Steinway Grand Piano , World Instruments , and Orchestral Winds Brass Percussion DLC. There's a ton of DLC's so you can pretty much mix and match to your heart's content. You can't beat a $7 recording of a Steinway in terms of price value.

I'm making music for a video game, if that puts my recommendation into context.

If you have technical difficulty , because you will have to learn how to use it , read the Steam Community discussions and you'll pretty much be golden.

having a built in step-sequencer for making drum tracks was welcome surprise. Also comes with a library of both recorded Drum tracks as well as midi and "groove monkey" tracks, allowing you to edit the step-sequences and instrument qualities of pre-fabricated midi drum tracks. Great for easily throwing together a working skeleton of a song that sounds good and also allows for you to edit and add your own personal touch and transitions between parts as opposed to just linking together stock drum loops.

The Midi-matrix mode shows a lot of promise as a easy to set up and utilize sampler for live applications. Haven't Gotten to play with it too much at this point, but plan to link my midi-guitar through it to see if i can't come up withsome interesting and original ideas

All in all, the DAW has become a personal favorite of mine since I purchased it months ago. Intuitive enough to boot up and throw together projects in a flash and comes with enough options and flexibility to handle more complicated tasks. Having it linked to my steam account for auto-updates and so that I don't have to hunt down a CD if I need to reinstall is also very nice.

With the Piano pack, a MIDI Keyboard and decent headphones you can make music that sounds like you are in a real studio.

If you are wondering... "Is this like the 'Music' game that i had on the playstation years ago?", the answer is... yes it is, Only better.

I would say though that if you are a PC novice or don't know much about music then this might be a big scary to use at first, but there is some great tutorial videos included with the program so don't worry about that too much.

Music Creator 6 is a high quality software. It offers many options for recording and editing, whether you are using a midi keyboard or an instrument, and you 'll be able to compose songs very fast. It's simple to use and get started, though its UI and functions sometimes confuses me (during editing mainly) but for advanced users I don't think it 'll be a problem. I recommend using a good quality sound card for low latency and suitable drivers. A good choice for anyone interested in music creation (!!)

I'm an amateur musician whose only prior audio editing experience was editing audio for video in programs like Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro, in addition some minor stuff in free programs like Audacity.

At 62 hours in so far, this program has proven to be quite good to me. The learning curve was a little steep at first, but the video tutorials (linked from within the program) were enough to get me started; although it took me awhile to discover some of the other features myself (the step-sequencer is rather hidden, and the "applied filter" list for individual tracks isn't so obvious.)

Some of the effects are kind of gimmicky and not all that useful. However, the basics are there: such as reverb and an equalizer. The quick "chain effects" are really good too for quick audio cleanup: I love the "vocals" chain, which can be quickly tweaked to your tastes. It's so much easier to get a professional sound in this program, than it is trying to master in a free program like Audacity.

I've so far used this software with my AKAI MPKMini keyboard controller, and have recorded accoustic guitar music with it as well using a Blue Yeti mic.

The included instruments did leave me with a bit too be desired. However, there are plenty of VST plugins available for FREE on the Internet, which is OK by me. For the price (when it's on sale) this is a good starter DAW. Just start looking around for VST effects and instruments, and you've got yourself a good program.

If you need extra help understanding how synths work, as I believe one review on here claimed you need to be a "audio engineer" to use this thing, there are some good tutorials on Youtube that talk about about what things like Attack and Delay are if you're coming in to this with no audio background at all.

I used this software quite a while. Would I recommend it? Yes, but only under certain circumstances. If you are looking for a simple software to get started in music production, then this may be a good choice. Also, if you just want to play around (and don't mind learning the software first) then this is software is not too bad. The VSTs included are adequate and welcomed. This software is, however, limited in functionality. For instance, one cannot master tracks here. However, given the price it is reasonable and expected. Also, if you enjoy and understand how this sofware operates then you will enjoy its big brother: SONAR. MC6 gave me some stability issues with crashes and bugs. Hopefully, these are not wide spread for everyone but be mindful. If you are more serious about music production there are other (more pricey) alternatives such as popular FL Studio, Cubase and others. MC6 is a great way to get started and you will likely quickly learn and master the program. Until then, MC6 offers great value for its price.